Giants on Earth: Do the descendants of Gigantopithecus still walk among us?

We have all heard of giants. Today, the word is likely to bring to mind the few examples of human beings who have grown to extreme sizes, like Robert Wadlow, who reached a height of 8ft 11.1in (2.72m) and is regarded as “the tallest person in history”. Typically, such human giants reach heights of less than 9ft (2.74m) and claims of greater heights appear to have been exaggerations.There have been stories of much bigger giants, of course. The storybook giants were enormous creatures, taller than houses. But could there have been a basis in the natural world for such beings?

We believe that there were – and perhaps still are – ‘True Giants’ and that they are the factual basis from which the storybook giants emerged. They are the reason that people in ancient times spoke about famous giants like Goliath. And they are the reason that people still see tree-tall giants in modern times.

Not many people get to see them; the giants spend most of their time in remote places. But they still bump into people now and then, leaving behind them appropriately large footprints.

There is a basis in modern science for discussing the existence of genuine giants of this size; but you may be wondering why – outside of storybooks – you haven’t heard much about them.